International Protection of Industrial Designs (the appearance of the product, label, packaging)

Inventions, their authorship and a monopoly on the use of fixed public testimony - a patent that is valid only in the country where it is issued.

In international practice, the term "patent" means safe conduct indicating granting its owner the exclusive right protected by the law on industrial property within the territory of the State where the patent and within the period prescribed by the laws of the State. This right is a collection of monopoly rights to use this facility in the industrial and commercial areas.

In the manufacturing sector - the exclusive right to manufacture the patented product. Patent obtained by the method provides a monopoly on the use of the patented technology.

in trade and commercial areas - an exclusive right to make the patented object in the economy. By introducing into the economy means sale or offering for sale, storage facility for this purpose, as well as its importation into the country.

patent provides protection for the invention in a particular area, that is in the country. In all other countries, this solution can easily be used by any person.

can formulate the main purpose of obtaining legal protection for an invention, it is - protection against unauthorized use of the invention and, therefore, to gain maximum commercial benefit from its implementation.

Patents abroad can be accomplished using the following patenting procedures:

Claiming invention patents in accordance with national legislations patenting (traditional patent system ).

To save convention priority, not later than 12 months from the date of Ukrainian application, you must apply to the National Authority of the country in which you wish to obtain patent protection for his invention.

cost of obtaining patent protection for an invention in one country using the traditional procedure of filing to obtaining protection varies from 3 to 8 thousand dollars. USA. This price includes the payment of a patent attorney in the country patenting.

Filing of an international application for the invention in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT ) (Patent Cooperation Treaty).

Treaty, which entered into force in 1978, is a special international agreement under the Paris Convention. Agreement regulates the rights and obligations of States Parties as well as applicants filing international applications. Its main provisions are the provisions of the International Application and International Search (Chapter I of the Treaty ) and the international preliminary examination (Chapter II of the Treaty).

patenting procedure under the Contract consists of two phases - international and national.

International Phase includes the filing of an international application, carrying out search and international publication of the international preliminary examination.

National Phase is a procedure for dealing with international applications in the patent offices of those States which are or have been selected on the basis of the international search and international preliminary examination.

Filing an international application is accompanied by a set of fees to the International Bureau of WIPO ( "international fee" ), the International Searching Authority ( " search fee " ), and the receiving Office ( " transmittal fee ").

International duty consists of the basic fee and the fee for instructions. All of these duties are levied by the receiving Office and paid in the currency prescribed by that office. Ukraine as a currency U.S. dollars determined.

National Phase

When entering the national phase of the international application is carried out in the patent offices of the states in which the applicant intends to obtain legal protection for an invention. This takes into account the international search report and the international preliminary examination.

national phase must be submitted to the national patent offices of the international patent application translations into national languages ??(if required by law) and pay the national patent fees. Requirements that may apply to international applications by national patent offices, defined in the Regulations to the Treaty.

national phase usually begins after 30 (31 ) months from the filing date or the priority date, if it has been claimed.

application for patent under the PCT or served in the Patent Office of Ukraine and then to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (application with a statement of priority) or directly to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization. It should be noted that the result of filing of PCT international application is not to obtain a patent. Filed and accepted for consideration PCT application has the effect the application as filed in each of the Contracting States which have signed the Patent Cooperation Treaty and allows the applicant to avoid the additional costs of preparing the application materials to the same invention for feeding in different countries and /or regions.< /p>

immediate granting patents implemented by national and /or regional offices of selected countries and /or regions. Therefore, to obtain legal protection for your invention in specific selected countries and /or regions, documents PCT application filed with the national and /or regional offices of these countries /regions ( documents can be filed within 30-31 months from the priority date ). Then elected Office examines and decides whether or not to grant a patent.

National patent offices do not impose any additional requirements for the form or content of the application, but the examination is carried out in accordance with national criteria for patentability. Therefore, the applicant when filing PCT applications should take into account national legislation, for example related to exemptions from the legal protection ( methods of treatment, medicines, foods, fissile materials, etc. ).

Seek patent protection in accordance with regional agreements:

European Patent Convention or the Convention on the Grant of European Patents (EPC )

European Patent (EP) in each Contracting State, for which it was issued, have the same effect and is subject to the same provisions as the national patent granted in that State. The territory of a European patent may be requested for one, several or all of the Contracting States. Validity of a European patent - 20 years from the filing date.

European patents granted for inventions that are new, industrially applicable and the basis of inventive activity.

European patent application may be filed with the European Patent Office in Munich, its branch in The Hague, as well as in the national patent offices of the contracting states. The application can be carried out directly at the EPO or by mail without a patent attorney. All other actions are carried out only through a patent attorney in one of the contracting states, registered at the EPO. Application is filed in one of the official languages ??of the EPO (English, French, German ) with the countries in which patent protection is sought.

Priority shall be the date of filing with the Patent Office. If an invention is made by different persons independently of each other, the right to the European patent granted to a person whose application has the earliest filing date.

The application may be submitted

convention priority within 12 months from the date of filing the application.

scope of protection of the European patent and the European patent application is determined by the content of the claims.

By European patent must pay an application fee. Fee shall be paid within one month after filing. If the fee is not paid within the specified period, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

The European patent application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked together by a single inventive concept. The application must disclose the invention sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be feasible specialist.

For indication of fee shall be payable within 12 months from the date on zayavkm EP, or if convention priority was requested - that the priority date. Designation of the Contracting States may be withdrawn prior to the issuance of the EP. If you respond to all States, it is considered a review of the European patent application. Designation fee of no return.

If the application for the EP contains more than ten claims, then for each item following the tenth, shall be paid an additional fee for the claims, and not later than the expiration month period commencing on the date of filing. If not paid within the prescribed time limit fees for additional claims, it is considered that the applicant had waived this item.

European search report is sent to the applicant together with copies of all reference documents. After receiving the international search report the applicant has the right at its own initiative, amend the description, claims and drawings, but so that the subject of the application did not go beyond the initial application.

European patent application together with the international search materials published 18 months from the date of filing or, if priority is claimed, from the priority date. However, at the request it can be published before the deadline.

From the date of publication comes temporary protection for the invention. Temporary protection to published European patent application occurs only if the paperwork in the country being one of the three official languages. For temporary protection in other countries - participants of the EPC must be sent to the patent offices of the translation of the claims of the national language.

Within 6 months from the date of publication of the application the applicant may file a request for a complete examination. Examination will be conducted only after the payment of a fee. However, allow for the possibility of petitioning the additional ( after that ) 2 -month period, respectively, with one set of fees. If within this period the application is not filed and the fee is not paid, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

examination is conducted to meet the criteria for patentability : novelty, industrial applicability and inventive activities. During the examination, a decision is, to which the applicant meets deadlines. If the application materials meet the requirements of the examination, it shall be made a preliminary decision. In case of positive decision claims translated into the other two official languages, shall be payable for the issue of patents and publications.

This stage takes place in three months. Following the pronouncement of expertise granting the patent European Patent Bulletin is published in the EPO and the third person may, within 9 months to file a protest against the grant of a patent with appropriate justifications. Protest makes a decision either confirming or reject a decision to grant a patent.

After publication of the notice of grant of a patent gives the patent holder the EPO patent letter, which is attached to the description.

European Patent diploma certifies that the invention patent is issued in respect of the States specified in the description.

During European grant there is a need to appoint national professional representatives in each of the selected countries in the translation of the application materials in national languages ??selected countries, payment of official fees for patents.

This procedure imposes a significant financial burden on the applicant. For example, obtaining a patent infivecountries providing national translation entails costsfrom € 5000.

Thus, you should pay attention to the additional opportunities for savings on the transfer of the application materials, payment services and foreign patent attorneys pay national official duties that have become available due to the conclusion of the London Agreement, which entered into force on 1 May 2008.

Thus, in accordance with this agreement:

European feed applications in English provides automatic recognition of a European patent in the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco without the requirement for national transfers and appoint local patent attorneys.

when submitted in English in countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Denmark and Iceland must provide a translation of the claims, and there is no need to spend additional funds on the translation of the description.

in obtaining a patent in Latvia and Slovenia European application filed in any of the official languages of the European Patent Office, it is necessary to provide a translation of the claims.

Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC)

territory of the Eurasian patent may be requested for one, several or all of the Contracting States. Validity of a Eurasian patent - 20 years from the date of filing. Obtaining a patent EAPO advisable if you want to get patent protection in several countries of the CIS since Eurasian patent provides legal protection for an invention simultaneously in nine countries of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan ).

Eurasian patents granted for inventions that are new, industrially applicable and based on inventive activity.

provisions and requirements of regional agreements of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization ( OAPI ) and the African Regional Industrial Property Organization ( ARIPO ) is basically similar to the requirements and provisions of the PCT.

application submitted to the Central Bureau of OAPI, considered a national for all States parties to the agreement. Where the international application (PCT) indicated at least one State Party OAPI, the application acts as a national in all participating States OAPI, which are members of the PCT.

ARIPO gives you the opportunity to obtain protection in some or all of the 9- contracting countries by filing one application in English and fee payment in U.S. dollars directly at the Office of ARIPO.

receiving Office may be patent vedomtsvo one of the contracting states. Application written in English on a special form ARIPO. Fee in U.S. dollars paid directly to the ARIPO Office.

If ARIPO Office decides to grant a patent, it shall notify the said States, who may, within 6 months to file objections to the registration of a spread in their territory. After this period, the Office shall issue and publish ARIPO patent, which shall enter into force immediately in these states do not file an objection. Validity of patents for each of the state governed by national law.